CinemaVision technology

Get a scan, watch a flick
CinemaVision turns an MRI exam into a multimedia experience

What’s the latest multimedia entertainment system doing inside a state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging scanner? That’s not just entertainment—it’s allowing a better MRI experience, especially for those who find the procedure uncomfortable or scary.

An MRI scanner is a high-tech medical device that helps radiologists obtain a precise and often early diagnosis of disease. MRI exams are performed inside long, tubular magnets, and patients must hold still in this isolated space for up to an hour. “An estimated 20 percent of patients react with fear or claustrophobia to confining, dark and often noisy MRI procedures, and cannot be imaged as a result,” says Alan Moorman, chief MRI technologist.

That’s where Community Health Network’s new CinemaVision virtual reality system comes in. It allows patients—children and adults alike— to watch movies or cartoons, or listen to music, during an MRI exam. It’s not just a little TV picture, it’s virtual reality, and is like watching a 62-inch giant-screen TV from a distance of less than six feet, with great sound in the headphones.

CinemaVision overcomes a range of significant technological challenges to perform within the MRI environment. Conventional audiovisual systems cannot function within the MRI’s high magnetic fields, and at the same time, their metal components interfere with MRI images. CinemaVision’s innovative design is able to deliver entertainment from CDs and videos to patients during the scan through a sleek, comfortable, lightweight headset.

“The impact has been particularly important for children, who now can often tolerate the exam without sedation when relaxed by cartoons or other entertainment,” says Kathy Steffen, medical imaging director.

It’s a great innovation, and Community Health Network is among the first health care providers in the area to take advantage of the technology. CinemaVision is available for patients having MRI exams at Community Hospital East, North and South, as well as the Community Imaging Center.

“This technology helps us deliver the best quality of care we can to patients,” says Steffen. “Even for those who are not fearful of the MRI, it often helps streamline the process and makes it more pleasant, while we deliver a high-quality diagnosis.